NH-0774 Rank 268
Mitokoromono · Gotō
Three-piece set (kozuka, kōgai and a pair of menuki) in shakudō with writing implements in gold and silver, unsigned and attributed to the Gotō school by a Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
A complete mitokoromono comprising kozuka, kōgai and a pair of menuki, on the theme of writing implements: brushes and ink sticks. The kozuka and kōgai plates are shakudō with a fine, even nanako ground; on it the brushes rise in takabori with gold and silver iroe, alongside small shakudō ink sticks decorated in gold with a manji and an animal motif. The backs and frames are gilt with a brushed texture. The menuki, carved in the round in shakudō with gold and silver accents, repeat the same theme. None of the pieces is signed. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, dated 1997, certifies the ensemble as a mitokoromono and attributes it to the Gotō school without naming a specific master. The photographs show a deep black patina, an intact nanako ground and well-preserved gold; the gilt backs have a few isolated spots, and the darkened reverses of the menuki show some stable oxidation. The original seller states that the set comes in a kiri wood box.
Strong points
- Complete three-piece set with a unified theme
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper attributing it to the Gotō school
- Shakudō with fine nanako and gold and silver iroe
- Uncommon literary theme: writing implements
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the paper attributes it to the Gotō school, not to a specific master
- The paper does not give a date; late Edo is inferred from style
- Isolated spots on the gilt backs and some stable oxidation on the menuki reverses
Score breakdown
52/100
The score shares out 100 points: Maker 25 · Workmanship 20 · Condition 18 · Period 12 · Paper 10 · Extras 5 · Price 10. It is computed from the record, not from an opinion. Maker, workmanship, condition and period are judged from the photographs and the paper; price is compared only with fittings of the same type.
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 10 of 10 Rank 1 of 14 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest